***Official AAMC Practice Exams Discussion Thread***

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Fp02c

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I took the free practice test and I had a few questions. How does it compare to the other tests available? I didnt think it was too bad particularly with verbal and p.s. I ended up with a 10 on verbal and 11 on p.s. Most of my verbal mistakes were downright stupid and I took the p.s without any studying really just to get a feel for it. Somebody told me though that this was the easiest test and I should have gotten at the very least above a 12 on both of those sections to even consider getting above a 10 on the real thing. I am taking the actual mcat may 27th. I changed it from mid april so that I can study more. My biggest strength is P.S. I just finished engineering so im very confortable with those types of questions. My biggest weakness is the biological sciences. I have only taken biology 1 and 2 and by the time the mcat rolls around I would have finished o chem 1 and barely started o chem 2. My strategy for the biology is mainly to use EK with some other sources on any subjects that give me a harder time. Is this a wise idea? I took the biology courses AGES ago and to be honest I dont remember any of the stuff with respect to physiology and body parts. What do you guys recommend with respect to how I should approach studying for this test.

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Took AAMC 10 yesterday, PS12 VR7 BS9. Totally ****ed up verbal, knew it while I was doing it. I continued with it though to minimize damage and 7 is not bad considering how badly I though I did. PS seemed easy except for one electrostatics passage. BS was a little tricky but nothing too bad. Atleast 5 stupid mistakes in BS. Curve is a little harsh. Got 47 questions in PS and that amounts to a 12. Will take AAMC 9 on wednesday and hopefully will do better. I feel like I am running out of gas when it comes to verbal. I am almost done with EK101 and finished TPR verbal workbook as well. Never got anything below an 8 on EK 101, mostly 9s, a couple of 8s and 10s. May be I am not good at reading from the computer screen.
 
Took AAMC 10 yesterday, PS12 VR7 BS9. Totally ****ed up verbal, knew it while I was doing it. I continued with it though to minimize damage and 7 is not bad considering how badly I though I did. PS seemed easy except for one electrostatics passage. BS was a little tricky but nothing too bad. Atleast 5 stupid mistakes in BS. Curve is a little harsh. Got 47 questions in PS and that amounts to a 12. Will take AAMC 9 on wednesday and hopefully will do better. I feel like I am running out of gas when it comes to verbal. I am almost done with EK101 and finished TPR verbal workbook as well. Never got anything below an 8 on EK 101, mostly 9s, a couple of 8s and 10s. May be I am not good at reading from the computer screen.

When are you taking the MCAT?
 
omg dude i had almost the exact same break down for 10....12,6,10...and thats after a 12,11,12 on 4...what the FUC! this cant be happening...and im not just being melodramtic...when you put so much effort into something and this is what happens its really depressing...my week is ruined
 
pleeasse vihisidas, bozz, amwatts sumbody...i need some condolence...was this verbal rediculously hard...or is it just me...i will admit...i took this weekend off and too the full length on 2day...but is 2days off really THAT serious...on friday i did three passages out of EK and got them all right...for liek the first time ever..and now, this???? and bio was rediculous...what the hell is a vole??? Argh aRgh ARgh ARh aRgh....i wish my floor was 10 stories higher...id jus leap out the window rite now!
 
Wow at least someone is geting good scores. I've studied for like 7 months and the highest score I got was a 25 and that was the 3rd practice exam. My lowest was a 22 and my test is april 18th. It's crazy b/c the questions I get wrong seem like questions I should have gotten. Just making careless mistakes. My verbal is absoluteley killing me I'm getting a 6. I read the passages and halfway through I can't understand what the hell I'm reading. I've read books my whole life. I did the EK 101 passages. Somedays I was getting almost everything right and some days the passages just weren't sinking in. Any advice? I wana believe that I'll do well on the real test but my scores are discouraging. I don't care if I don't get the score I don't want. I have to keep trying. I just can't visualize myself doing anything else. Never had a prob with any undergrad classes. I did well on all my classes but this test is proving to be a stimy.
 
Wow at least someone is geting good scores. I've studied for like 7 months and the highest score I got was a 25 and that was the 3rd practice exam. My lowest was a 22 and my test is april 18th. It's crazy b/c the questions I get wrong seem like questions I should have gotten. Just making careless mistakes. My verbal is absoluteley killing me I'm getting a 6. I read the passages and halfway through I can't understand what the hell I'm reading. I've read books my whole life. I did the EK 101 passages. Somedays I was getting almost everything right and some days the passages just weren't sinking in. Any advice? I wana believe that I'll do well on the real test but my scores are discouraging. I don't care if I don't get the score I don't want. I have to keep trying. I just can't visualize myself doing anything else. Never had a prob with any undergrad classes. I did well on all my classes but this test is proving to be a stymie.
 
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Wow at least someone is geting good scores. I've studied for like 7 months and the highest score I got was a 25 and that was the 3rd practice exam. My lowest was a 22 and my test is april 18th. It's crazy b/c the questions I get wrong seem like questions I should have gotten. Just making careless mistakes. My verbal is absoluteley killing me I'm getting a 6. I read the passages and halfway through I can't understand what the hell I'm reading. I've read books my whole life. I did the EK 101 passages. Somedays I was getting almost everything right and some days the passages just weren't sinking in. Any advice? I wana believe that I'll do well on the real test but my scores are discouraging. I don't care if I don't get the score I don't want. I have to keep trying. I just can't visualize myself doing anything else. Never had a prob with any undergrad classes. I did well on all my classes but this test is proving to be a stimy.

Well the best advice I can give is to never say "well I should have gotten these questions right, I was just careless." Part of taking a test is not being careless, and at some point you just need to tell yourself you don't know things as well as you should/think you do. There's very little you can do between now and the time you take your test, so go in with your best foot forward and be prepared for the possibility of a retake.
 
Oh one more question. If I have to re take the test. Where can I buy some more practice exams? I already did PR and aamc. Thanks.
 
could someone sticky this thread? I always have to scroll so far to find it, and I feel it's popular/relevant enough to warrant it...
 
what the hell is a vole???


A rodent. (We used to do this lab in middle school where we got owl hair balls and took all the vole bones out and pasted the skeleton onto a piece of paper. That's the class that made me so interested in biology :D not that particular lab, though...)


You guys are scaring me about 10. I'm taking it today, and the real thing on Sat... I've been averaging a 29 on my practice tests, but I would really like a 30 come test day...
 
Just took my first AAMC (3) and it froze on me three times. It was not the browser, but just the window that housed the test. happend at the very begining of PS, the middle of my VR (at which point i wanted to shove my pencil thru the monitor), and at the end of my BS. was totally distracting. I figured out how to remedy the situation (by going to the original 'start test' page and click 'restart online test.' each time though, i got a bit nervous about losing my answers and having to back track.

has anyone else experienced this? if so, how do you fix it? i was using IE on a PC. Is there a more appropriate program/platform?

thanks in advance.
 
yea see normally i use firefox too, but i take my full lengths at my kaplan center for the test center vibe (although its so swamped with TOFEL kids that feels more like a high school computer class than a testing center).
 
What is everybodys opinion on this test in terms of difficulty and how it relates to the real mcat. I took the test today , under test conditions ( along with 10 min break and everything) and scored a 11-10-9. Physical sciences I thought was fair. Verbal I rocked until the last passage where i got them ALL wrong ( compleatly blanked .. dontknow why..) and the bio was good except for the organic chem that I though was difficult. Can anybody post how they did on this test and any other aamc they have taken?
 
I got a 10 on PS which is usually my worst. I haven't started study physics at all yet. Verbal I got 11. Normal for me. For biology I got a 10 too. I thought biology was my best subject (minus orgo but got almost all of them correct by educated quesses). I missed some I shouldn't have. I definitely did the worst on the last 2 passages. I was burned out by that time I suppose.
 
wow definitely posted in the wrong thread...if anyone read it ignore plz =)
 
"A major determinant of whether you will succeed as a medical school applicant is if you possess the ability to ignore those people who will try to dishearten, discourage and demoralize you by telling you that are aren't good enough." - One of my professors


Man that quote is so true. I've found that by talking to different doctors you'll always get those that tell you not to become a doctor and that you're better off being a nurse or a PA (nothing against those proffessions) because the hours are good and it's not as stressfull. I feel like sucker punching those docs. They try to dishearten you. I think alot of them are just testing you to see if you're really serious about it. They wana see a weakness that's indicative of how serious you are. Then they talk about the MCAT like it's an impossible feat. I've also talked with med students from FSU that say the same thing, but there are also those that are very supportive and have your back. Don't fall for that pessimism cause if you do then I don't think you're ready.

(I'm using the word "you" figuratevly)
 
Is there anyway to get AAMC # 1, # 2 still?

The only way is to buy the original hard copies from a student that purchased the exam test booklets back in '99 or whenever they were still available. The newer CBTs are more indicative of what you will see on test day anyway. If you check out CBT3 you'll find that its a fair bit easier than the later ones.
 
IMO I thought the hardest AAMC exam was #8. I didn't so so hot on the PS and BS sections. I thought a lot of the passages had vague questions that were hard to answer. But subsequently, I made the highest VR score out of any AAMC exam I took (a 10). Go figure.
 
I am sort of freaking out. Still have about 2 1/2 weeks till my MCAT date but....AAMC 8 PS was HARD. That passage about the blue starch indicator...WTF? I got most of the questions right but definitely didn't understand anything I was reading.
 
For those of you who have taken the AAMC pratice tests, how many tests did you have to take to show a big improvement in your score. I'm planning on taking 10-12 practice tests including the AAMC ones. I'm a little scared to take another one since I scored a 15 on my last one.
 
For those of you who have taken the AAMC pratice tests, how many tests did you have to take to show a big improvement in your score. I'm planning on taking 10-12 practice tests including the AAMC ones. I'm a little scared to take another one since I scored a 15 on my last one.

While I know this probably is not the answer you are looking for, the truth is it depends on you.

A good MCAT score is a combination of two factors: material comprehension and test familiarity. You need to assess why you got the score you did on the last one. If you know the material well, your score will climb pretty fast as you become more familiar with the test by taking more practice tests However, if your knowledge of the material is weak, it will take a much longer time to increase that test score as practice tests will only help you so much if your foundation isn't solid.
 
When was your last one?

If its been quite some time it might be worth taking another practice test, perhaps even the same one. Its very easy to get caught up in endless material review even when you're relatively prepared to start practicing.
 
I was wondering if someone could suggest the 4 best AAMC tests to buy. I don't want to buy all of them, as they are not cheap. And by best, I mean most accurately reflecting a real test. Thanks!
 
I'd buy the four most recent ones. Remember you can take 3 for free. As for most accurately reflecting the test, I'm guessing you'll get different opinions because people have taken different versions. I'd say my PS and BS sections were more Kaplan like than AAMC.
 
I am sort of freaking out. Still have about 2 1/2 weeks till my MCAT date but....AAMC 8 PS was HARD. That passage about the blue starch indicator...WTF? I got most of the questions right but definitely didn't understand anything I was reading.

haha get used to it.. figure out how you got those questions right. I guarantee that this'll happen on the real deal... but if you practice enough, you can get those Qs right.

I don't know of anyone who felt confident on every single question on either of the sciences... to get the high scores in the sciences, you'll have to work on guessing a little.
 
I'm new to this thread so this question has probably been answered. I have been taking aamc practice test and was curious if you can highlight and cross out answers on the real test.
 
It's been said on these forums that AAMC #3 is the easiest of the AAMC tests. I just took it as my official MCAT diagnostic (before any kind of real studying) and I scored a 21. I'm scheduled for the June 13th administration and I have EK (complete set), NOVA Physics, and TPR (complete set) prep materials. But considering #3 is the easiest one out there, should I be concerned?

Scores:
PS -- 6
VR -- 8
BS -- 7

Any advice?
 
seriously you are taking your test in 6 weeks? that is not long enought to study for the mcat. :eek:you either need to not sleep for a month and study 24 hours a day (do not do this) or push your test date back to the end of july.

yes. you should be concerned. please reschedule. i am begging you. i might not sleep tonight. but seriously there isnt anything wrong with getting a 21 without studying but you need a FEW months to prepare.
 
Advice = study hard. I don't know exactly how a 21 diag fits into the scheme of things, I didn't take AAMC 3 as my diag until after I reviewed everything.

AAMC 3 isn't "that" easy. IMHO its easiness is overblown and people's scores will prove that one. I think its that because it was the first one people took and they think "in retrospect" it was "sooo easy", but aren't all things in retrospect?
 
i got copies of the aamc 3-10 tests through tpr cbt site and i was wondering, is there any way that i could just get a list of the answers after i complete it?
 
The AAMC CBT's have all the answers to them after you complete them (or even during the test if you choose it to be so).
 
It's been said on these forums that AAMC #3 is the easiest of the AAMC tests. I just took it as my official MCAT diagnostic (before any kind of real studying) and I scored a 21. I'm scheduled for the June 13th administration and I have EK (complete set), NOVA Physics, and TPR (complete set) prep materials. But considering #3 is the easiest one out there, should I be concerned?

Scores:
PS -- 6
VR -- 8
BS -- 7

Any advice?

Let me share my story with you. I started studying about 12 weeks before the real thing. I took TPR free online as my diagnostic. I scored a lowly 17; well I studied hardcore for about 5 weeks and then I took AAMC 3. Once again, I did horrible and scored only 20. At that point, I only had about 7 or so weeks left. I considered postponing it to a later date but decided I will take at least two more exams before the deadline to extension would come. I continued with my studying and around three weeks before the real thing, I took AAMC 6. There was significant improvement. I scored a 27. Further, I took AAMC 7 the following week and scored a 28. I only had two weeks left then and I decided I would go ahead with my original date. So I continued practicing. My highest score was a 30 in AAMC 8. I scored 28 and 29 respectively in AAMC 10 and 9.
So what changed from a 20 in AAMC 3? well, as I continued with my studies, I started to notice the patterns. I thoroughly went over all my exams and analyzed all the questions to the best of my abilities. My weakest aspect was verbal. I progressively started doing worse as April 18th approached. But there were significant improvement in sciences because I sort of figured out what AAMC were looking for. I finally took the exam on april 18th and kind of felt like being punched in the balls mainly because my MCAT had a passage on electromagnetism, electrostatics, and ciruits each, topics that were not emphasized at all in practice MCATS. So I don't know how my score will turn out, but I suggest that you continue with your original plan, and take at least two more AAMC exams right before the two week deadline. Then you can decide if you want to give it a go. In the mean time, rigrously go over your exams and analyze them in every possible angle. It will help you immensely. Even if you misunderstand the passage, you will get more than half questions right if you understand what they are looking for.
 
Thank you so much for the advice! I admit, I'm clueless as to these "patterns" because I didn't detect any as I went through the answers, but maybe that's because it was just one test. I will definitely take more before the end of May. Thanks again!

Any other advice out there?
 
The AAMC CBT's have all the answers to them after you complete them (or even during the test if you choose it to be so).

i understand that, but i'm talking more like just an answer key. i know for some of the tests provided by tpr they have an answer key complemented with in depth explanations for all the questions.
 
Unless you're looking for a printable answer key, the AAMC tests have what you're looking for. You can opt to see all detailed solutions.
 
It's been said on these forums that AAMC #3 is the easiest of the AAMC tests. I just took it as my official MCAT diagnostic (before any kind of real studying) and I scored a 21. I'm scheduled for the June 13th administration and I have EK (complete set), NOVA Physics, and TPR (complete set) prep materials. But considering #3 is the easiest one out there, should I be concerned?

Scores:
PS -- 6
VR -- 8
BS -- 7

Any advice?

good starting verbal score :thumbup: I think you can get that to a 10 or higher. Everyone has different starting science scores depending on their background. I had a 14 point improvement with a similar starting score (Kaplan diagnostic).
 
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